Rabasa Cycle

In Belial, Mateu chooses a direct and almost hypnotic frontal composition. The face looks straight at the viewer without evasion, establishing an immediate and slightly unsettling dialogue. Unlike the restrained profile of Azrael, here the composition is built upon a broken symmetry: the face appears vertically divided, as if revealing two natures coexisting in tension. Discover the story behind our relationship with the artist.

Julià Mateu (1941–2016) was a Catalan draftsman, printmaker, and painter whose work was driven by a profound inner need to create. Born in Vic, he developed a highly personal artistic language that combined expressive figuration with symbolic and dreamlike imagery. Explore our relationship with the artist in this post.

The brushwork is fluid and confident.
In the faces and hands, it becomes more precise and refined, as this is where the artist concentrates the sitters' expressiveness and character.

The portrait of the Rabasa couple, painted by the master Félix Revello de Toro, presides over the meeting room, positioned on the wall opposite the company’s logo, thus maintaining its symbolic presence within both the family and corporate history.

The brushwork is fluid and confident.
In the faces and hands, it becomes more precise and refined, as this is where the artist concentrates the sitters' expressiveness and character.

The background, by contrast, is rendered with broader, softer touches that provide depth without taking prominence away from the figures.

The light is soft and enveloping, falling delicately on the faces and hands to model the volumes and bring life to the skin and fabrics. The range of neutral and muted blue tones reinforces an intimate and distinguished atmosphere, very much in the elegant and refined line characteristic of Revello de Toro.
This painting still occupies a prominent place today in what was once the residence of the Rabasa couple and now houses the offices of Bicicletas Rabasa in Mollet del Vallès, Barcelona.

The portrait of the Rabasa couple, painted by the master Félix Revello de Toro, presides over the meeting room, positioned on the wall opposite the company’s logo, thus maintaining its symbolic presence within both the family and corporate history.

Félix Revello de Toro (Málaga, 1926) is a Spanish portrait painter renowned for his elegant figurative style and for his special dedication to female portraiture. He trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and completed his studies in Italy, an experience that profoundly shaped his work. In his painting one can perceive the influence of masters such as Diego Velázquez, Titian, and Rembrandt, especially in the treatment of light and in the psychological depth of his portraits.

In 1979, Félix Revello de Toro received a petition from the Rabasa couple to create a joint portrait that would immortalize their image. The work fully reflects his characteristic style, based on an elegant and restrained figuration in which the dignity and serenity of the sitters become the protagonists.

The composition is sober and balanced: the couple appears seated, very close together, with a slight inclination that reinforces the sense of complicity and unity.

Everything is arranged naturally, without artifices, so that attention is focused on the people.

Since its beginnings in 1922, Rabasa has not only been a bicycle brand. It has also been a way of understanding the world.
Its founders, Simeon Rabasa and his wife Rosa Negre, became great promoters of culture in the city where they lived, Mollet del Vallès, Barcelona.

They acted as patrons of artists of their time, many of them emerging, others already well known, all united by a creative vision and a strong commitment to art. This love for culture and art was reflected throughout the entire Rabasa universe: posters, logos, bicycle colors, photographs, ceramic murals in Rabasa’s factories, commemorative medals celebrating major international victories, and more.

Nothing was accidental. Everything breathed art.

Over the years, Rabasa forged connections with creators such as Jordi Alumar, Joan Abelló, Ràfols Casamada, Maria Girona, Josep Cuní, Félix Revello de Toro, and even Salvador Dalí, among many others.
From today onward, we begin a journey through these works, these artists, and their influence on the design and soul of the Rabasa brand.

Over the years, Rabasa forged connections with creators such as Jordi Alumar, Joan Abelló, Ràfols Casamada, Maria Girona, Josep Cuní, Félix Revello de Toro, and even Salvador Dalí, among many others.
From today onward, we begin a journey through these works, these artists, and their influence on the design and soul of the Rabasa brand.

.


Nothing was accidental. Everything breathed art.

This love for culture and art was reflected throughout the entire Rabasa universe: posters, logos, bicycle colors, photographs, ceramic murals in Rabasa’s factories, commemorative medals celebrating major international victories, and more. Nothing was accidental. Everything breathed art.